


Unexpected Circumstances

by kittokatsu



Category: Psycho (1960)
Genre: F/M, Horror, M/M, Other, slashers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22241548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittokatsu/pseuds/kittokatsu
Summary: You decide to get away by taking an impromptu vacation to who knows where. But as fate has it, you unexpectedly find yourself caught in a bad rainstorm and stay at the Bates Motel, run by a nervous, mild-mannered man named Norman Bates. Slowly, you develop feelings for him but will it last or will Mother have the final say?
Relationships: Norman Bates/Reader
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

You were bored out of your mind at your house. There was nothing you wanted to watch on tv and you have already taken your nap after cleaning all the rooms.

Your thoughts started to wander to the last time you really hung out with your friends, which was around two years ago. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and your office job was mostly to blame. It isn’t the most exciting job but it paid the bills at the end of the day.

The realization that you didn’t have a social life felt lonely at times yet you knew worrying about it wasn’t going to get you anywhere.

Brushing the thoughts away, you decided that you needed to get away by going on an impromptu vacation after a long time of putting it off. Who knows? It could help you find the inspiration you’ve been looking for. 

After about a half an hour, you completed packing your suitcase and grabbed your keys and wallet as you headed out the door, locking it right behind you.

\------------------------------------

It's been around ten minutes since you've been on the road and you seemed to have found yourself caught up in the middle of a rainstorm. You turn on your headlights to see where you are going.

The rain is still not letting up so you eventually decide to make a detour at a place called "Bate Motel", seeing the words flash in neon lights.

You park your car and are about to search for your umbrella until you realize that you left it at home. As you slowly make yourself upright, you notice a blurry figure coming towards you. They reveal themselves to be a tall man who is standing under an umbrella. He slightly taps at your window and you respond by rolling it down.

"L-let me w-walk you inside" the man said with concern and a stutter

You simply nod your head and quickly get out of your car, making your way underneath his umbrella. The both of you walk in silence with the heavy rain being the only sound being made.

The two of you enter inside where the lobby is and get yourselves settled. 

"Hello there, I hope you're doing alright" expressed the gentleman with a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah I am. Thank you for helping me get inside." you replied. 

"You're welcome. I'm Norman. Norman Bates. I run the motel. Let me get you checked in." He makes his way over to the front desk with you leaning in curiously to see the man named Norman looking for something. He pulls out a notebook and opened it, which showed a bunch of names 

"Ah, here it is. Can you sign your name here?"  
You comply, writing your first and last name in the space below the other signatures.  
Grabbing a key attached to a number, Norman hands it to you. "Cabin 1 since you've been the only guest here today."

"Thank you"  
"You're welcome and hope you enjoy your stay"  
______

You get yourself situated into your room and decide to explore the room to see what everything is about. The bed is neatly set with white sheets and two fluffy pillows. As with any guest room, most of the furniture was wooden, namely the nightstand, drawers, the closet. 

You put your suitcase down on the ground and open it to grab the first pieces of clothing you could put together as a full outfit.

While getting undressed, you find the silence peaceful yet almost lonely. As you continue to strip down with nothing except your underwear, you suddenly stop as you swear you just heard a faint sound coming from the wall.

Silence. Deciding to not focus on that but instead grab your change of clothes you set out and quickly put them on. Afterwards, you take the wet clothes you took off and head over to the bathroom to hang them up at the edge of the shower area to dry off the next day.

You still can’t shake the feeling that someone was watching you but decide to not think about it too much for now.

\---------

Today is a brand new morning and overall you had a good night’s sleep but just as you wanted to get a few more minutes of shut eye, you heard yelling coming from somewhere. You got up to see where it was coming, finding the source of the sound when you made your way to the window.

You saw a house in the distance where brick stairs laid in front. You could tell the place was old by the architecture but it was still kept in good condition. For some reason, it gave off a foreboding type of vibe. 

The yelling continued and this time you could make out the words.

“I’m telling you that guest is no good!”

“Mother, they were caught in the rain last night, I couldn’t just let them suffer on the road!”

“Who brings a suitcase with them? They want to take over! No son of mine is going to be taken advantage of by some degenerate!”

“Mother!”

“If you won’t take care of them, then I will!”

After overhearing the heated exchange, you saw Norman walk outside and slamming the door behind him. Today was going to be a long day.  
\---------

The sound of utensils is all that is heard as you eat your scrambled eggs with the occasional bite of your buttered toast when you put said utensils down every time. You see Norman staring at you with a sweet but almost sad look in his eyes.

The silence continued on like this for around fifteen minutes until you decided to start the conversation first.

“So how long have you been running the motel for?”

“Since I was fifteen years old ever since Mother fell ill. I always make sure she’s getting the care she deserves.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that.” 

“It’s okay, I know she wants me to make sure everything is running smoothly. By the way, what made you come across this area?”

“An escape. I feel like life has been like a broken record and it was time to do something about it instead of just taking it.”

“That’s understandable. Admittedly, sometimes I feel the urge to run away from it all. Run away and never look back! But I can’t. I know Mother may come across as harsh but she needs me and I need her.”

“I hope things get better for both of you although I am concerned about your mom. She seems to be...on edge. At least from what I overheard this morning at your house on the hill across the motel. Have you ever thought about putting her in a nursing home? I’m sure there are plenty of good ones around here.”

Silence. That’s what brought everything to a halt. You can sense something was off about Norman after what you said. His eyes seemed to be unlike his mild mannered personality: they were cold and threatening.

For what felt like an eternity of tenseness but was really only around twenty or so seconds, Norman looked at you with a now incredulous expression on his face as if you had three heads. “You want me to lock her up in one of those places? With nowhere to go or nothing to do?”

“I didn’t mean it like that I was just trying to say--”

“That she’s unstable. Like she’ll be a danger to herself and others. Mother may be hard to deal with at times but she’s a good person deep down.”

You sat there feeling awkward and it made you wonder whether you should leave as soon as possible. 

This was going to be a long day.

\----

Deciding to take a quick shower since you didn’t get the chance to last night, you grab the clothes from where you previously left them and put them on your bed. Then you go into the bathroom, close the door, and proceed to get undressed.

Afterwards, you step into the shower and the thoughts proceeded to come flooding in. What just happened? Did I do or say something to offend him? Why do I get the feeling this is my fault?

There were more thoughts but these were the ones that stood out to you. As you were processing these questions, you overheard a creak of the door as it started to open over the loud sound of the water running above you. 

Standing there naked and vulnerable, you can make out a faint shadow of a figure with a knife in one hand walking towards you. Anxiously, you await what’s to happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! What do you think of the first chapter so far? It's my first time writing a Norman Bates x Reader fic so I hope to do a good job


	2. Chapter Two

This was it. Here you were naked with nowhere to run. The unknown figure was closing in and there wasn’t anything you could do. That is unless you come up with a way to defend yourself in your few seconds.

Grabbing the bath brush since it was the nearest to you, you smacked the intruder with it towards the side of their head. They loosened their grip on their knife with it falling to the ground. Immediately they firmly grabbed your shoulders, pushing you into the wall. When they moved their body forward, you got a good look of their face. 

To your horror, it was the owner of the motel: Norman Bates. 

Before you could get a word in, he stumbled away while picking up his knife from the floor and slamming the door behind you.

Now alone with the only sound of water hitting your body, you stand there with a shocked expression on your face. You can’t believe what just happened. How the handsome man you thought was mild-mannered and kindhearted, had just tried to murder you while wearing a dress and wig. 

From there, you knew that you couldn’t stay around any longer or else you could end up being murdered. But at the same time, you felt this indescribable draw to this place like you were meant to be here. With these conflicting thoughts, you turned off the shower, dried off, and put on a change of clothes. 

\---

There was an awkward silence as the two of you were waiting for the other to say something first. After the incident in the shower, you knew you had to confront him about it.

You decided to speak first. “I called you into the lobby because there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Yes, what is it (y/n)?” Norman asked with a worried look on his face. 

“It’s about what happened in the shower.”

“What happened?”

“You tried to stab me with a knife while wearing a dress and grey wig.”

His facial expression was one of horrified confusion at the statement. The reaction from him made you confused as well. You both were about to speak but both stopped as neither of you wanted to interrupt the other. Trying again, Norman was the one able to start talking this time.

“Are you sure? It could be my mother--” he said trailing off, looking away from you guiltily. “Okay I confess: Mother doesn’t like you and wants to get rid of you! I tried to stop her but it seems she tried to hurt you. Are you okay?”

No matter how hard you tried, words just couldn’t come out of your mouth. You were still trying to process what you’ve just heard.

“Yeah...yeah I’m fine.” You hastily went outside with the door slamming behind you. This wasn’t what you were expecting when you decided to go on your impromptu vacation.

Even though this went against all common sense, you decided to stay at the motel despite your trepidations. 

\---

Gradually, your visits to the motel became more frequent. It was never something you planned. Originally due to the shower incident, you felt fearful for your life and staying would’ve basically been a death wish. However despite obvious reasons why you shouldn’t, you decided to stick around because Norman was someone you felt drawn to for some reason. 

The time spent together was never dull especially with the stolen moments shared between the two of you. There was one instance when you were in the middle of telling a family about the free Bates Motel stationary that comes with their room. As you were telling them how much they’ll enjoy their experience, you stopped when you exchanged a quick glance at Norman who was rolling a chart of new sheets into the room across from you. One of the parents had to wave their hand near your face while you kept staring at him with a smile which was returned back by Norman. 

Another time was when the both of you reached for the clipboard to give to the guest so he could write his name down in order to keep track of who checked in. Your hand briefly brushed against his at the same time with the two of you blushing. There was an awkward pause for about five seconds before you decided to let Norman have the clipboard to give to the guest. 

Let’s just say these stolen moments started to become a habit. 

You were coming back outside after cleaning the last room when suddenly you heard Norman arguing with his “mother”. It’s been three months and at this point you’ve gotten accustomed to living with “her”. So far, there weren't any incidents but today that was about to change. 

You were in the Bates house, specifically in the kitchen since you wanted to surprise Norman with his favorite meal for lunch: a BLT sandwich with a slice of cheddar cheese inside of it. He said he would be back in around five minutes since he was going to go check up on the motel rooms in case anyone left anything behind. 

After you got done making his lunch along with the same meal for yourself, you put the sandwiches in the fridge and sat down to wait until he returned. 

You looked at the clock on the wall: 12:05

Okay, you thought, I can wait. And at first, you were able to do so but then 12:05 became 12:15 then before you knew it, it was 2:00. You worried there was something wrong and got up to go see what’s taking him longer than expected. 

When you were outside, you walked down the long set of stoned steps and made your way to the area where the motel rooms were located. Looking in each one, you didn’t see Norman at all. After closing the door behind you, you headed to the lobby to see if he was there. Nobody was inside.

You decided to head back to the house and see if he was somewhere you hadn’t thought about. Occasionally there was a creak in one of the floorboards while you were wandering the halls. Eventually you had searched all the rooms where he could’ve been. At least both upstairs and downstairs anyways. That’s when you realized there was one place you haven’t checked.

The basement. 

One time you asked Norman if you could see what was down there and he told you nobody was allowed to go in due to personal reasons. He picked right back up to the conversation you both were having about birds before you had the chance to ask him what those personal reasons were. 

Now you had the opportunity to find out what was in the basement. Opening the door, you went in and saw that there wasn’t much inside except for a few boxes in a corner, a light hanging by a chain from the ceiling, and someone sitting in a rocking chair.

Wait. Who was the figure? You didn’t recognize them as they had their back turned. It looked like an old woman judging from the gray hair in a bun. You assumed it was Norman’s mom since she was the only other person he interacted with besides you.

When you reached out your hand to get her attention, you grabbed her shoulder and gasped when you tilted your head slightly at what you saw. There was a corpse seated there, wearing a dark blue dress and a gray wig.

Before you had time to process everything, you turned around when you saw Norman in a long dress and wig like the one on the corpse once again. 

He was coming at you with a knife but you were able to move out of the way in time. The last time you saw his crazed look, it was around three months ago when you were showering in the Bates Motel for the first time.

“Please don’t do this, it’s me y/n!” you pleaded. Dodging from left to right, you found yourself backed up into the wall. There was a look in his eyes that was so unfamiliar to you, it scared you.

“Get out of here! And stay away from my son!” he shouted in a high pitched voice. You were confused but then realized that this wasn’t Norman you were facing. Technically it was but not mentally.

“Mother stop it! Y/N means everything to me and I’m not going to let you hurt them!” He began fighting with “Mother” as he was attempting to take the knife out of “her” hand.

You heard something coming from Norman’s mouth. It was hard to hear but he let out three words “I love you”. 

This shocked you but when Mother took over again and was about to slash your chest, you were able to defend yourself in the nick of time by hitting him with a book on the small desk beside you.

Then Norman proceeded to pass out on the floor in front of you.

\---

The current situation was a difficult one to say the least. Not only did you find out Norman’s mother was actually a corpse in a cellar, but he had another personality that represented his mom and would take over whenever someone came across as a “threat” to her son.

This would result in you being the near victim of Mother when you encountered her the following two times. The first being when you were in the shower and the second instance happening where you saw the taxidemized dead body in the cellar of Norman’s mom (You were told her name was Norma Bates when you asked one random day).

Now with the knowledge you had, it made you realize that all the conversations you thought you overheard back and forth between two people were actually one in the same.

Before you could have more time to take a trip down memory lane, Norman began to regain consciousness. He adjusted himself into a comfortable sitting position while rubbing the side of his head due to a throbbing pain from. 

"What happened? Why am I laying on the couch?”

“Well…” you planned to tell him about his alter but instead decided to explain that his mother tried to kill you again and he stepped in to try to stop her from doing so. 

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that again. Sometimes I get this feeling it’s my fault whenever anyone gets hurt, especially you.”

Smiling, you reached out for his hand. “You shouldn’t blame yourself over what happened. At the end of the day, we can get through this together. As a couple.”

Then immediately after saying that, you kiss him with every fiber of your being. Both of you were shocked at what just happened. 

“I love you too, Norman Bates.”  
“Y/N, did I really say I love you?” he nervously asked as he felt a blush form on his cheeks.  
“Yes and I want to take the next step but only if you feel comfortable with it.”

He was going over in his mind what taking this leap of faith would mean. But he knew in his heart that being with you felt right. Making his decision, Norman was able to answer your question.

“I would feel very comfortable taking the next step with you (F/N) (L/N).”

Hearing those words, you sat next to your now boyfriend on the sofa. Soon the two of you found yourselves cuddling together in silence with the occasional whispered “I love you”s leaving each other’s lips. 

After a few minutes, you decided you’d be the one to initiate your first kiss as a couple. Turns out Norman had the same idea as well. The two of you touched your lips together into a passionate kiss.

It felt like nobody else existed in the world except for you and him. There were fireworks going off in each other’s heads. Kissing him was like being taken to the beach. Calm and full of infinite possibility beyond the horizon. 

All was right in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it! The last chapter will just be to show what happens afterwards plus tie up any loose ends needed.  
> This time I'll make sure my readers won't have to wait as long as 8-9 months like you did for the second part of this story.


	3. Chapter Three

The thunderous sound echoed through the room as the two of you were watching television. Currently the movie playing was a film noir and it was getting to the end where the killer was revealed to be the femme fatale. 

As the woman was being led away, she begs the detective not to turn her over to the police. Despite his attraction towards her throughout the film, he knows he has to do his duty. She then asks the detective if he would wait up for her when she gets out. Before he could give his answer, she exited the office due to being escorted by the officers with the door slamming being the only sound heard. 

After the credits rolled, Norman got up to grab the remote and turned off the television. There was a comfortable silence as you smiled at him with a shy smile given in return. 

“How did you enjoy the movie?” you asked. 

“I enjoyed it a lot but really I enjoy doing anything as long as I’m with you.” he replied with loving admiration in his voice.

You remembered a few months ago when you confessed you returned his feelings in the exact same room where the two of you are. It felt like time had stopped that day. A weight was lifted off both of your shoulders when you kissed him. 

Ever since the both of you got together, it seemed like for the first time, you seemed at ease with yourself and Norman noticed.

Whether you were doing something small such as drinking a cold refreshing glass of water on a hot day or finally quitting that deadend office job to instead work at the motel to save enough money to travel the world (this time with someone you can see a future with), he could tell how much you’ve grown compared to who you were when you first met: restless and looked like you wanted to escape from the tedious life you had back then. 

In return, you saw a gradual shift in his demeanor as the time went on. He carried himself with more self-assuredness. Whenever he was helping a customer, he didn’t stammer while giving them the rundown on what benefits comes with paying for their room such as the free breakfast or towels that say “Bates Motel” on them. 

As for dealing with his “mother”, you’d be lying if you said you got along with her. But at least she stopped trying to murder you for “stealing” her son away. Plus even if she wouldn’t admit it to your face, she does appreciate that at least you’ve stayed by his side and cared about his well-being. 

After eating a quick dinner, Norman went to go check up on the guests outside with you following behind him. Looking at the large group in front of you, this was the first time the motel had no vacancy rooms. The upbeat atmosphere was something he thought he’d never get to see. There were usually very few people who passed by and stayed for the night. Sometimes they didn’t check out. If that was the case, you comforted Norman while he was upset that his mother once again ended up murdering a customer just because she felt was coming on to her boy.

That’s when you found out this happened a lot and although at first it scared you, you were able to talk about it with Norman and work together to stand up to his domineering mother. After a while, there were no more blackouts from Norman and therefore no more murders. 

Anyways at the present moment, you heard someone ask if anyone knew where the paper towels were. Realizing you both answered at the same time, it made the two of you laugh for a bit before walking towards the front office area while holding hands. 

For the first time, everything truly felt right in the world.


End file.
